Before The Golden Fight 2024 (Sep13-Oct2)

STARDOM BLOG

BEFORE THE GOLDEN FIGHT 2024

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 Suzu Suzuki and Tam Nakano collide for the top prize 

Suzu Suzuki [鈴木すず] who won 2023's 5STAR Grand Prix and was supposed to challenge Tam Nakano [中野たむ] for the World Of Stardom championship last November, but Tam had to vacate the belt due to injury. Almost a year later, Tam has the red belt again and from the commentary desk, Suzu confronted her for a title match that never got to happen. 

Since then, Tam and Suzu have been having a great series of tag matches leading into the PPV. Trading pins on the first 2 preliminaries. 

Suzu lost to Tam's Tiger Suplex on 9.20. Tam apologized for the absence last year, but then made fun of Suzu for not winning the belt and being comfortable with the people of the same age doing gal poses. Suzu stated that the champion's absence made her suffer too and all the support that Tam received since returning made it such an easy path back to the top. 

Suzu pinned Tam with a "Tequilla Shot" on 9.21 and had a post-match scuffle.

Accusing each other of not having prestige. Tam believes there's a massive gap between them because she doesn't complain when pushed down and just crawls back up no matter what. While Suzu insisted that Tam is privileged in a way.

It didn't get any better on the 23rd. 

Suzu started a scrap by attacking Tam from the back as she was making her way back. 

Tam wants to show Suzu "real" hell. 

Suzu claims that she's already seen that.

That smack from Suzu backstage left quite a mark.

Both having enough of each other by the time of the press conference. 

On the final preliminary match, Suzu and Tam fought outside doing a little tour around the crowd. Tam was then pushed off the stairs and rolled her way back down. 

The anger within Suzu has been the driving force for all the ruckus and the goal to erase Tam Nakano from the universe. 

Tam even took some time to make a Suzu doll to try understand her more. 

Can Suzu Suzuki become the new face of STARDOM this weekend or will this be another page in Tam Road Chapter 2?

The Baby White Story continues

Natsupoi successfully made her first defense for the Wonder Of Stardom Championship after defeating Hazuki to continue her "Baby White story". As she was about to address the crowd, Thekla made her way to the ring, raised her arm, whispered into her ear, and placed a H.A.T.E. towel around her neck. 

Poi was confused.

We don't know exactly what the message was, but Natsupoi wanted to be serious with Thekla. 

The Idol Killer tried to soften herself as the focus shifted towards the Fairy. Getting her to reminisce the good old times as compatible partners by showing her "true" self.

They used to be close as faction mates during their time in DDM (Donna Del Mondo). When Natsupoi decided to stab the faction in the back, an emotional Thekla was the last person she interacted with before cutting off and leaving with the Angels. Poi said that her only regret in betraying DDM was leaving Thekla behind as she was starting to click with her. The thought of letting her in Cosmic Angels was also brought up. Poi believes that she is going to meet a person with a "good heart", but doubts still lingered. 

A booking for a 4 vs 4 elimination match between CA and H.A.T.E. was made on the last Korakuen hall show before the PPV. During the press conference for their title match, Thekla suggested a new rule to the elimination match. Anyone who gets eliminated from the match must leave and not stay ringside to ensure cleanliness. Both were struggling to put their emotions into words when looking back. Poi really gave her trust by the end. 

In the elimination match, both were left last. Momo Watanabe who was not in the match tried to give Thekla a bat, but refused to take it. Thekla and Poi were really going back and forth clean.

Ultimately, it wasn't going to stay that way with H.A.T.E. involved. After Poi accidentally kicked the referee on the face, Thekla was backed into a corner. In a shocking surprise, Clark Connors from Bullet Club War Dogs (heel faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling) speared Poi before Thekla went for the final blow to get the victory. BC was not included in the rule after all.

Thekla has been hanging out with them for months based on her social media posts. Now also teasing a possible build for STARDOM and NJPW's Historic X-Over show later this year.

Poi was utterly devastated falling into such a foul trap that she should've expected to begin with. Being the biggest loser giving all that trust to the same people who've been trying to kill her friends. Thekla lured Poi back into memory lane just to make her feel what it's like to be betrayed. The real Thekla only wants revenge.

To make her feel the H.A.T.E. and steal that precious "Baby White".

Will Poi be able to recover from this?

The Hazuki redemption arc

During this year's 5STAR Grand Prix, Natsupoi (なつぽい) and Hazuki (葉月) had an intense block match that resulted in a time limit draw. While Hazuki didn't get to advance out of the blocks, she didn't leave empty-handed. Poi promised her a title shot for the Wonder Of Stardom Title.

At the press conference for their match, Hazuki declared her fight with Natsupoi for the Wonder Of Stardom championship (white belt) to be her "last" attempt for it. This was her sixth shot for the white belt and up to that point, Natsupoi has never beaten her before in singles competition.

 

Eventually, Poi was able to get upper hand.

Adding another painful defeat to the books.

When Hazuki came out for her first match after that night, she was visibly not in the mood to wrestle.

As soon as the match ended, Hazuki walked away by herself, leaving everyone a bit puzzled about her behavior. Her rival Starlight Kid (SLK) made a comment backstage acknowledging her pain of losing that many title shots which is why she feels dead inside. 

Meanwhile, STARS shrugged it all off.

The next day, Hazuki was far away from the ring and had to be called out by her fellow mates to tag in. Yunamon tried to get some fire in her with a few beatings. Hazuki did one vertical suplex on Yunamon and tagged out straight away, never to be involved in the match again. Nowhere to be seen by the time the match was done.

Saya Iida started asking Hazuki why she has been like this, but Koguma shrugged it all off and stated that STARS have overcome so many difficulties in the past. 

On Twitter, Iida continued her support for Hazuki telling her to not ignore the crowds who were calling for her. Momo Kohgo believes that Hazuki can overcome this and that STARS is still fine. Yunamon expressed her frustration stating that this wasn't the person she wanted to fight.

The next show, Hazuki got some fire from Koguma after giving her a double passion chop to the back. It didn't mean that the "Wildheart" was fully restored as she lost to a dropkick.

Koguma gave Hazuki an elbow to the face and tells her to get a grip. Mei Seira was thankful to get a win on Hazuki but was also concerned about her state (same with SLK). 

After the show, Hazuki finally broke her silence on social media by apologizing to everyone.

On the 22nd, Hazuki faced off against SLK at the start of the trios match. SLK tried to fire her up once more, but there was barely any heat within. Afterwards, the bear gave her a slap, a hug, and a pep talk to give her encouragement.

Mayu Iwatani was unsure what Hazuki would do next but her confidence to see STARS united stayed strong. 

Hazuki then posted a lengthy apology after the show. Made my own attempt at manual translation but not certain on how correct this is.

The 23rd arrived. Mayu was sure that everything is going be ok. 

It was also Maika's (舞華) turn to bring fire. Her fellow Fukuoka native gave her a hug, chops to the back with words of encouragement to ignite that fighting spirit. Going back and forth with elbows afterwards for a bit.

Received even more support backstage from STARS who were really excited to see her feeling much better, awaiting the full return. 

Hazuki explained herself much more in an interview with Tokyo Sports. Revealing that after returning home from the autograph session, she completely isolated herself from everything. Hazuki chose to compete during  the Tōhoku tour (9.18-23) because she would've hated meeting people and wrestling even more if she were to be absent. But as she participated, her hatred worsen. Many thoughts of no longer being needed and changing her own destiny appeared. The help from STARS and Maika did restore parts of her essence, but it didn't suffice. 

 

The 9.28 Korakuen Hall show arrived with a STARS versus STARS tag match booked consisting of Hazuki teaming up with Hanan against her main tag partner Koguma and Saya Iida. 

Everyone did hits on Hazuki as a taste of encouragement. 

Koguma attempted Hazuki's signature boot face wash, but was met with a dropkick and a barrage as the bear went for the final running hit. 

The calls for Hazuki were loud as she rose up to the occasion.

 

Altough Hazuki was pinned again, she had fun. Koguma and Iida got emotional in the post-match welcoming back their friend they knew and loved. She still hates SLK and even sang happy birthday with the crowd for her. Motivated to not give up and reach higher levels once again.

Her new mission is to broaden the horizon into other belts and to loose the obsession with the White belt. Defeating Starlight Kid in the PPV being the intended start.

In the press conference, Hazuki had no interest in meeting SLK. Leaving shortly after finally saying that she hated her in-person. Kid hopes to make the lead-up more exciting and use it as a catalyst for future success.  

In the last preliminary match, Hazuki and SLK went all out trading hard-hitting shots. Chaos ensued as they started fighting outside. Chairs were thrown, faces were smashed into metal signs and tables until they got counted out. 

All that mattered is if the energy between the two was on par again. 

The singles match should be exciting.

Either Hazuki will redeem herself or Starlight Kid keeps her momentum high. 

The IWGP Title Picture

During the 5STAR, AZM managed to secure her first singles win against the IWGP Women's champion Mayu Iwatani. Both were considerate of doing a future title match against each other.

In the semi-finals of the tournament, Maika was victorious over the Icon. Adding the Empress as a potential candidate in the championship's road. 

 Mayu also declared her "retirement" from competing in the 5STAR Grand Prix. Saying that she may not be as strong as she was this summer which she believes to be her "peak year" as a pro wrestler. Furthermore, Mayu stated that she doesn't have the role to nominate the people who she lost to (AZM & Maika), but is willing to accept the challenge when ready.

During the Namba Grand Fight PPV, Mayu teamed up with Hanan against AZM & Miyu Amasaki. After the match, Mayu raised the IWGP title up high in front of AZM signalling what could be the next match for the championship. 

However....

"Timeless" Toni Storm (AEW) showed up on screen with a pre-made promo calling out title match in Nagoya on October 5th. Toni wants to prove that her winning the World Of Stardom belt back in 2017 from Mayu wasn't a mistake.

They finally got to face off for the first time in years. Toni was met positively for her return in Japan as she got out of the curtain with the goal of destroying Mayu.

While Mayu is still yet to defend her belt against Toni, she's already made a clear promise to fight AZM once for the gold (if she survives Toni).

Mayu couldn't understand Toni's own presence in the press conference. Confused by some story about Toni's supposed "love affair with Stan Hansen" and being thrown a heel at her. 

Toni only views the IWGP title as another treasured accesory to seek which apparently has been destined by Inoki himself entering in her dreams.  Wanting to wear the fighting spirit towel from him lying somewhere in her Florida home as she defends the belt in the future.

Mayu lost the last preliminary match in a more humiliating way. The trio of Toni, Mina, and Maika doing synchronized hip attacks. 

Mayu got nailed by a brutal "Storm Zero". 

Hanan eating one too for Toni to pick up the victory.

Toni also made a new friend in Maika.

Toni intends to destroy Mayu Iwatani referring to her now as that "Baka Bitch". Mayu on her knees with no words to say.

Timeless Bom-ba-ye?????

 

God's Eye versus H.A.T.E

The feud between God's Eye (GE) and H A.T.E. continued with Syuri and Saki Kashima declaring their challenge for the Goddess Tag titles against Momo Watanabe and Thekla. Syuri still wants to take Konami back (somehow). Konami herself doesn't even make a big deal out it as she views GE as some minor league unit. With MIRAI leaving for the flower fields, Ami Sourei sidelined to recover from an injury, she's been fighting for years, Konami returning to the dark side. GE has took major hits that will be difficult to recover from despite Lady C and Hina joining. 

Saki's own courage to fight and defend Syuri has become stronger, but not sufficient enough to stop the force of H.A.T.E..

Syuri and Saki now set their focus on the upcoming Goddess Tag league tournament which starts on the 26th of October. 

Saki is also set to be out of action for the PPV to a "nagging" injury.

For now, H.A.T.E. still continues to show levels of dominance while Konami freely continues to spraypaint everything into black.

 

Cosmic Angels stand strong

At the last show before the 5STAR Grand Prix began, Cosmic Angels won the Artist Of Stardom titles from ExV. The CA trio got ambushed by H.A.T.E. as they were about to close the show, wanting a guranteed shot for the belts in the future.

Once the 5STAR season ended, it was time. H.A.T.E. defeated Cosmic Angels in an 8 person tag where Saya Kamitani stole a win on Saori Anou. Natsuko Tora demanded president Okada to officiate a title match with her, Kamitani, and Ruaka as the challengers. Kamitani labelled Cosmic Angels as easy business, especially Saori. 

The day of the title match arrived with awful weather in Kaminoyama city. At least the whole show was streamed for free on YouTube (for a limited time only). 

It started chaotically with both teams charging towards each other. H.A.T.E. managed to get everyone out and threw CA like bowling balls onto the crowd seats. Saori was their target in the ring from the start. 

Both teams had good teamwork and assists, but the main focus was on the encounters between Saori and Kamitani as they took most of the time tagged in.  

In the end, Kamitani ate two simulatenous kicks to the face which transitioned into Saori folding her into a "Special Pottering" pin for the win. 

Confirming the Cosmic trio's first defense as Artist Of Stardom champs.

H.A.T.E. still has some unfinished business as they continue to pursue full dominance despite the loss. 

The Angels weren't too easy after all. 

The Phenex Queen 

Since Saya Kamitani turned to the dark side, the calls from the babyfaces for her to come back appeared and still continued after the 5STAR. 

Tam Nakano promised to her a title shot, but wants to "wake her up" and know her true feelings. In belief that Saya is holding a grudge over the incident during their 5STAR GP match last year.

Rookie Sayaka Kurara wanted the Golden Phoenix she admired and fought in her debut to return. 

But was then met by a reply saying she's just wasting time because things will never come back the way they were.

On the 9.28 Korakuen hall show, Kurara got a big win by pinning Kamitani with an assist from CA during a trios match. She tried to beg again once more to come back as she held her hands. Kamitani shoved her away and furiously left in embarassment. 

Now Kurara wants to get the three count on her own. 

Kamitani doesn't want to get involved at all.

They met again at the elimination match between CA and H.A.T.E.. Kamitani freely absorbing all the hits from Kurara knowing that she's still way above her. Kurara got very close to ending her a few times, but both were eliminated by Saori's running boot as they fought on the apron.

Kurara doesn't want to give up and let go of the Phoenix.

The Gate Of Rina

Rina has managed to continue an incredible hold of the Future Of Stardom title for over 500 days and now achieving her 12th defense by defeating Aya Sakura during New Blood 15. 

Miyu Amasaki called her shot for the belt after beating her former stablemate in Queen's Quest Hina who was the previous challenger before Sakura.

Rina accepted the challenge. This will be Miyu's second shot to end Rina's reign. 

Miyu gave her a slap after their preliminary.

Rina's wrath could meet its end here. If not, she may be God.

Rian joins Empress Nexus Venus

In a climate where we have seen big changes in terms of the factions, only one more person remained unit-less. After the pre-show match between Rian and Xena during Namba Grand Fight (9.14 PPV), Rian was welcomed into ExV. 

However, Rian didn't understand a word that came out of Xena. Waka Tsukiyama then posted a video asking her if she even knew what happened. 

Rian had her special homecoming match on 9.19 against Maika. Maika has always been supportive of Rian since she made her debut back in March, so it wasn't much of a surprise that ExV showed interest. Rian finally accepted the invitation to join the unit and hopes to get stronger and return to her hometown of Hachinohe (八戸市) with a belt. 

The backstage celebration was pretty cute . 

 

Azusa Inaba joins H.A.T.E

Azusa Inaba of JTO who is one half of the New Blood Tag Team champions was officialy let in to H.A.T.E. after receiving the unit's shirt from Rina in New Blood 14 (9.13). She has been aligned with the heels in all of her STARDOM bookings this year and also has the same goal as Rina of crushing the "old hags" within STARDOM.